Automatic continuous feeding device of metallurgical furnace

ABSTRACT

An automatic continuous feeding device of a metallurgical furnace includes an outer barrel and a plurality of inner barrels. The outer barrel includes an accommodation space having an out-feed channel communicated to a reduction furnace. An out-feed gate is disposed on the out-feed channel of the outer barrel. The inner barrels utilized to receive a material are disposed in the accommodation space of the outer barrel. Each of the inner barrels includes an in-feed opening and an out-feed opening, wherein the in-feed opening passing through the outer barrel to communicate to an exterior is enclosed by an openable cover enclosing mechanism, and an inner-barrel lower cover is disposed on each of the out-feed openings. The accommodation space of the outer barrel can be kept at an environmental temperature and pressure equal to that of the reduction furnace, to perform multiple feeding operations in an environment with constant temperature and pressure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an automatic continuous feeding device of a metallurgical furnace, and in particular relates to a feeding device capable of performing a process of adding new mixed material without destroying an initial sealing status inside the metallurgical furnace.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, graphite-arc heating reduction furnaces for the reduction of silicon material from silicon sand (silica sand) are utilized to gradually heat a mixed material containing silicon sand, coke, coal and wood, from a furnace temperature approaching the environmental temperature to a high temperature of 1500° C. to 2500° C., such that the reduction process of the material to be returned can be fulfilled. After the reduction process above is finished, the temperature of the reduction furnace shall be lowered to a temperature of 250° C., i.e., a temperature approaching the environmental temperature for extracting reduction resultant from the reduction furnace, avoiding the impairs on the equipment, quality of the resultant or operational environment under the acute change of temperature. The next batch of material to be returned is allowed to transmit to the reduction furnace after the resultant (silicon) is removed from the reduction furnace, and the reduction furnace is gradually heated up to the temperature of 1500° C. to 2500° C. from a furnace temperature approaching the environmental temperature above for performing the reduction process.

Due to the large temperature difference between the furnace body and the environment, if the reduction furnace is opened at the temperature of 1500° C. to 2500° C., explosion is possibly occurred and massive high-temperature fluid entering the operation environment results in contaminations and damages to the operation environment and operators on the spot. Even worse is that the high-temperature silicon resultant obtained from reduction process has a sudden temperature drop and possibly generates structural destruction if the reduction furnace is opened at the temperature of 1500° C. to 2500° C., and the silicon resultant contaminated by environmental impurities cannot be utilized. It is practically estimated that a single process of silicon reduction (i.e., from the feeding process, the rising temperature process, the returning process, the dropping temperature process, to the furnace discharging process) takes about thirty-two hours, and a large amount of heat energy is dissipatively wasted in the process of heating the reduction furnace from the temperature of 250° C. up to the temperature of 1500° C. to 2500° C. and the process of lowering the temperature of the reduction furnace to 250° C. for accessing the reduction resultant. Due to the lengthy processing time and in particular of the unceasing damages to the environment and waste of energy in the entire operation process, this conventional metallurgical reduction method costs too much and therefore cannot be deemed as an environmental-protective industrial technique.

For this reason, the inventor of this application provides an invention application, METALLURGICAL SEPARATE REDUCTION METHOD AND EQUIPMENT THEREOF of Taiwan Patent Application No. 100109820, mainly utilizing a reduction furnace combined with a sectionable cooling device to provide a separately reduction metallurgical equipment to perform the metallurgical and cooling processes of the entire metallurgical reduction process at different separate spaces, so that the operations of the metallurgical and cooling processes of the metallurgical reduction furnace are not limited in the reduction furnace, and therefore the disadvantages such as a lengthy waiting time of feeding material, unable-raised productivity and large amount of waste of energy in the conventional metallurgical reduction method can be improved. However, although '820 patent application discloses the method of retaining the sealed and isobaric space inside the reduction furnace in the metallurgical and cooling processes, in the actual application, with the traditional feeding device, the feeding operation could only be conducted in single time, a mixed material must be refilled into the said reduction furnace after every metallurgical process is finished; if the sealed status between the feeding device and the reduction furnace failed to be maintained well when the mixed material is injected into the reduction furnace, both of the temperature and pressure inside the reduction furnace may be decreased, resulting in the lengthy waiting time and waste of energy. Thus, it is essential to provide a feeding device incorporable with the reduction furnace above for shortening working time, increasing metallurgical efficiency and productivity and decreasing waste of energy, under the circumstances of minimizing the destroyed sealing status inside the metallurgical furnace to finish the refilling process of the new mixed material.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of this, the invention provides an automatic continuous feeding device of a metallurgical furnace for overcoming the disadvantages of the feeding device of the conventional reduction furnace.

The main purpose of the present invention is to provide an automatic continuous feeding device of a metallurgical furnace, performing several feeding processes to enhance the overall productivity without altering the temperature and pressure inside the reduction furnace.

Another purpose of the present invention is to provide an automatic continuous feeding device of a metallurgical furnace, decreasing the waiting time of feeding material and reducing waste of energy on the repetitive temperature drop and rise of the metallurgical furnace.

To achieve the purposes and effects above, the technical means adopted by the present invention includes an outer barrel and a plurality of inner barrels. The outer barrel comprises an accommodation space with a bottom including an out-feed channel communicated to an interior of a reduction furnace. The inner barrels utilized to receive a material are respectively disposed in the accommodation space of the outer barrel, and each of the inner barrels at least including an out-feed opening. An inner-barrel lower cover being operably opened is disposed on each of the out-feed openings of the inner barrels.

According to the structure above, each of the inner barrels further comprises an in-feed opening at least passing through the outer barrel to communicate to an exterior, and each of the in-feed openings of the inner barrels is enclosed by an openable cover enclosing mechanism.

According to the structure above, the cover enclosing mechanism is an upper cover disposed on the outer barrel, and the upper cover is operable to simultaneously enclose the in-feed openings of each of the inner barrels.

According to the structure above, the cover enclosing mechanism is an inner barrel upper cover disposed on the in-feed opening of each of the inner barrels.

According to the structure above, an out-feed gate is disposed on the out-feed channel.

According to the structure above, a material guiding portion is disposed between the outer barrel and the out-feed channel.

According to the structure above, the material guiding portion has a hopper shape.

A detailed description is given in the following embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention can be more fully understood by reading the subsequent detailed description and examples with references made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a structure of a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a whole structure of the first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing the condition of refilling material of the first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing the condition of feeding material of the first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing the condition of feeding material of the first embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing a structure of a second embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following description is of the best-contemplated mode of carrying out the invention. This description is made for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention and should not be taken in a limiting sense. The scope of the invention is best determined by reference to the appended claims.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, an automatic continuous feeding device ‘A’ of a metallurgical furnace of a first embodiment of the invention mainly comprises an outer barrel 1 and a plurality of inner barrels 2. The outer barrel 1 comprises an accommodation space 11 therein and an out-feed channel 12 disposed on a bottom of the accommodation space 11. A hopper-shaped material guiding portion 15 is disposed between the outer barrel 1 and the out-feed channel 12. An out-feed gate 13 being controllably opened or closed is disposed on the out-feed channel 12. The inner barrels 2 are disposed in the accommodation space 11 of the outer barrel 1, and each of the inner barrels 2 includes an in-feed opening 21 passing through the outer barrel 1 to communicate to an exterior, so that a material D to be treated and processed from the exterior can be directly refilled in the inner barrels 2 through the in-feed openings 21. Further, an openable cover enclosing mechanism is disposed on each of the in-feed openings 21 of the inner barrels 2. In this embodiment, the cover enclosing mechanism is an upper cover 14 disposed on the outer barrel 1, so that the in-feed openings 21 of the inner barrels 2 can be simultaneously opened or enclosed by the upper cover 14. An out-feed opening 22 corresponding to the out-feed channel 12 is disposed on one side of each of the inner barrels 2, and an operably opened inner-barrel lower cover 23 is disposed on each of the out-feed openings 22 of the inner barrels 2.

Referring to FIGS. 3 to 5, in actual application of the feeding device ‘A’ of the first embodiment, the out-feed gate 13 is extended to an upper of a reduction boiler 5 by a feeding tube 131. The reduction boiler 5 is disposed in an inner furnace space 31 formed by an inner wall 3 of a reduction furnace B, and the out-feed channel 12 of the outer barrel 1 is communicated to an interior of the reduction furnace B. The reduction furnace B further comprises an outer wall 30 disposed on an outer periphery of the inner wall 3. A heating device 4 is disposed in the inner furnace space 31 of the reduction furnace B. An extractable stirring device C is externally passed through the reduction furnace B to extend to the inside of the reduction boiler 5. An out-feed channel 32 for external communication is disposed on a bottom of the reduction furnace B, and an out-feed gate 33 is disposed on the out-feed channel 32.

In operation, when the cover enclosing mechanism (upper cover 14) is opened, the material D to be treated and processed from the exterior can be directly refilled in each of the inner barrels 2 through the in-feed openings 21 (shown in FIG. 3), and then the cover enclosing mechanism (upper cover 14) is closed to enclose each of the in-feed openings 21 of the inner barrels 2. After the outer barrel 1 is heated to an adequate operation temperature and pressure, the inner-barrel lower cover 23 of one of the inner barrels 2 and the out-feed gate 13 are first opened, so that the material D can be directly guided into the reduction boiler 5 (shown in FIG. 4) to perform the predetermined process. After the predetermined process is completed, the out-feed gate 33 is opened to allow the processed material D from the reduction boiler 5 to be poured in the out-feed channel 32, so that the processed material D can be outwardly transmitted in accordance with the disclosure of METALLURGICAL DIVISIONAL REDUCTION METHOD AND EQUIPMENT THEREOF of Taiwan Patent Application No. 100109820. Then, the inner-barrel lower cover 23 of another inner barrel 2 and the out-feed gate 13 are opened to perform another process of reduction (shown in FIG. 5). Without altering the inner temperature and pressure of the outer barrel 1 to perform multiple feeding operations (i.e., guiding the material D located in each of the inner barrels 2 to the reduction boiler 5), the integral productivity can be increased, the delay time of feeding can be decreased, and the energy consumption on the repetitive temperature drop and rise of the metallurgical furnace can be decreased.

Referring to FIG. 6, a feeding device A′ of a metallurgical furnace of a second embodiment of the invention mainly comprises an outer barrel 10 and a plurality of inner barrels 20. The outer barrel 10 comprises an accommodation space 101 therein and an out-feed channel 102 disposed on a bottom of the accommodation space 101. A hopper-shaped material guiding portion 105 is disposed between the outer barrel 10 and the out-feed channel 102. The inner barrels 20 are disposed in the accommodation space 101 of the outer barrel 10. Each of the inner barrels 20 includes an in-feed opening 201 passing through the outer barrel 10 to communicate to an exterior, so that a material D to be treated and processed from the exterior can be directly refilled in the inner barrels 20 through the in-feed openings 201. Further, an openable cover enclosing mechanism is disposed on each of the in-feed openings 201 of the inner barrels 20. In this embodiment, the cover enclosing mechanism comprises a plurality of inner barrel upper covers 204 respectively pivoted to the in-feed openings 201 of the inner barrels 20, so that the in-feed openings 201 of the inner barrels 20 can be opened or enclosed by the inner barrel upper cover 204. The inner barrel upper covers 204 are respectively disposed on the in-feed openings 201 of the inner barrels 20, an out-feed opening 202 corresponding to the out-feed channel 102 is disposed on one side of each of the inner barrels 20, and an operably opened inner-barrel lower cover 203 is disposed on each of the out-feed openings 202 of the inner barrels 20.

In actual applications of the feeding device A′ of the metallurgical furnace of the second embodiment of the invention, the outer barrel 10 combined to the reduction furnace B and the operation thereof are equal to those of the first embodiment. The major difference between the second embodiment and the first embodiment is that the cover enclosing mechanism of the second embodiment comprises the inner barrel upper covers 204 respectively disposed on the in-feed openings 201 of the inner barrels 20, and the inner barrel upper covers 204 can be individually utilized to open or close the in-feed openings 201 of the inner barrels 20, so that the material D from the exterior can be directly refilled in the inner barrels 20 through the in-feed openings 201.

In the disclosed structures of the embodiments above, there still have several structural variations in the actual applications. For example, a supporting frame disposed in the outer barrel 1 can be utilized to operably fix the inner barrels 2 in the outer barrel 1, and the top side of the outer barrel 1 is formed with a hollow opening enclosed by the upper cover 14, wherein the inner barrels 2 is still provided with the out-feed opening 22 and the inner-barrel lower cover 23, the inner barrels 2 can be prefilled with the material D from a place outside the outer barrel 1, i.e., the design of the in-feed openings 21 of the inner barrels 2 can be omitted and the inner barrels 2 can be directly prefilled with the material D through the out-feed openings 22 thereof from a place outside the outer barrel 1, and then the inner barrels 2 are simultaneously disposed in the accommodation space 11 of the outer barrel 1, and the same function and effect as the embodiments above can be achieved accordingly.

In summary, the present invention provides an automatic continuous feeding device of a metallurgical furnace for shortening working time, increasing metallurgical efficiency and productivity and decreasing waste of energy.

While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of the preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. To the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements (as would be apparent to those skilled in the art). Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements. 

1. An automatic continuous feeding device of a metallurgical furnace, at least comprising: an outer barrel comprising an accommodation space with a bottom including an out-feed channel communicated to an interior of a reduction furnace; and a plurality of inner barrels utilized to receive a material and disposed in the accommodation space of the outer barrel, each of the inner barrels at least including an out-feed opening, an inner-barrel lower cover being operably opened and disposed on each of the out-feed openings of the inner barrels.
 2. The automatic continuous feeding device of the metallurgical furnace as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the inner barrels further comprises an in-feed opening at least passing through the outer barrel to communicate to an exterior, and each of the in-feed openings of the inner barrels is enclosed by an openable cover enclosing mechanism.
 3. The automatic continuous feeding device of the metallurgical furnace as claimed in claim 2, wherein the cover enclosing mechanism is an upper cover disposed on the outer barrel, and the upper cover is operable to simultaneously enclose the in-feed openings of each of the inner barrels.
 4. The automatic continuous feeding device of the metallurgical furnace as claimed in claim 2, wherein the cover enclosing mechanism is an inner barrel upper cover disposed on the in-feed opening of each of the inner barrels.
 5. The automatic continuous feeding device of the metallurgical furnace as claimed in claim 1, wherein an out-feed gate is disposed on the out-feed channel.
 6. The automatic continuous feeding device of the metallurgical furnace as claimed in claim 2, wherein an out-feed gate is disposed on the out-feed channel.
 7. The automatic continuous feeding device of the metallurgical furnace as claimed in claim 3, wherein an out-feed gate is disposed on the out-feed channel.
 8. The automatic continuous feeding device of the metallurgical furnace as claimed in claim 4, wherein an out-feed gate is disposed on the out-feed channel.
 9. The automatic continuous feeding device of the metallurgical furnace as claimed in claim 1, wherein a material guiding portion is disposed between the outer barrel and the out-feed channel.
 10. The automatic continuous feeding device of the metallurgical furnace as claimed in claim 2, wherein a material guiding portion is disposed between the outer barrel and the out-feed channel.
 11. The automatic continuous feeding device of the metallurgical furnace as claimed in claim 3, wherein a material guiding portion is disposed between the outer barrel and the out-feed channel.
 12. The automatic continuous feeding device of the metallurgical furnace as claimed in claim 4, wherein a material guiding portion is disposed between the outer barrel and the out-feed channel.
 13. The automatic continuous feeding device of the metallurgical furnace as claimed in claim 5, wherein a material guiding portion is disposed between the outer barrel and the out-feed channel.
 14. The automatic continuous feeding device of the metallurgical furnace as claimed in claim 6, wherein a material guiding portion is disposed between the outer barrel and the out-feed channel.
 15. The automatic continuous feeding device of the metallurgical furnace as claimed in claim 7, wherein a material guiding portion is disposed between the outer barrel and the out-feed channel.
 16. The automatic continuous feeding device of the metallurgical furnace as claimed in claim 8, wherein a material guiding portion is disposed between the outer barrel and the out-feed channel.
 17. The automatic continuous feeding device of the metallurgical furnace as claimed in claim 9, wherein the material guiding portion comprises a hopper shape.
 18. The automatic continuous feeding device of the metallurgical furnace as claimed in claim 10, wherein the material guiding portion comprises a hopper shape.
 19. The automatic continuous feeding device of the metallurgical furnace as claimed in claim 11, wherein the material guiding portion comprises a hopper shape.
 20. The automatic continuous feeding device of the metallurgical furnace as claimed in claim 12, wherein the material guiding portion comprises a hopper shape.
 21. The automatic continuous feeding device of the metallurgical furnace as claimed in claim 13, wherein the material guiding portion comprises a hopper shape.
 22. The automatic continuous feeding device of the metallurgical furnace as claimed in claim 14, wherein the material guiding portion comprises a hopper shape.
 23. The automatic continuous feeding device of the metallurgical furnace as claimed in claim 15, wherein the material guiding portion comprises a hopper shape.
 24. The automatic continuous feeding device of the metallurgical furnace as claimed in claim 16, wherein the material guiding portion comprises a hopper shape. 